The highly-anticipated rematch between Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes was marred in controversy.
The same could be said of the first fight between the PFL’s best lightweights, which saw Dagestan’s Usman Nurmagomedov get his hand raised via majority decision back in January.
Nine months later, Nurmagomedov and Hughes would cross paths yet again in the main event of PFL Champion Series on Friday, this time with the vacant PFL lightweight title on the line.
The headliners both had their moments across five rounds, leaving the fight in the hands of the judges after going the distance.
Many fans thought Hughes had done enough to win the decision, but all three judges at cageside had the fight for Nurmagomedov, with the scorecards all over the place.
Fans react to 50-45 score in Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes 2
The official scorecards read 50-45, 49-46, and 48-47, all for Nurmagomedov to win.
Judge Bryan Miner’s scorecard has come under fire from fans and media alike, as he gave Nurmagomedov every round against Hughes, who has an argument for winning rounds 2, 3, and 5.
“The judge who had it 50-45 should never be allowed to judge MMA again,” MMA reporter Ariel Helwani wrote on X.
“It’s safe to say Paul Hughes wasn’t playing with the same deck as Usman Nurmagomedov. 50-45 Usman is quite possibly the worst singular scorecard in the history [of] MMA. Despicable,” Helwani added.
“This is one of the most embarrassing moments in MMA history,” one fan wrote of the Nurmagomedov vs. Hughes result.
“50-45 is unbelievable. Hughes needs to leave the PFL after this. I watched the tournaments and the Champions Series. But after that I made a point of never watching the PFL again,” the fan added.
“50-45, 49-46 are egregious. [Rounds] 2 and 3 were definitely Hughes and 5 could have gone either but I gave it to Usman. Crazy scorecards,” another fan wrote on X.
“Some of the worst judging ever,” another fan voiced.
“Worst scorecard ever, closely followed by one of the worst ref performances ever – something stinks when that happens in such a close fight,” a fan added.
PFL posted incorrect scorecards online post-fight
The PFL released the round-by-round scorecards following the controversial result.
In now-deleted posts, the PFL’s PR department shared incorrect round-by-round scores that equaled to 50-44, 50-46, and 48-46. Their initial scorecard had Nurmagomedov winning round 5 with a 10-8 score.
PFL PR tweeted and deleted two scorecards before coming up with the correct scorecards (see below).
Judge Hadi Ali gave Nurmagomedov rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4, while judge Darryl Ransom gave Nurmagomedov rounds 1, 3, and 4.